Life After Tkachev (L.A.T)

Well, that was fun while it lasted.  A freshly signed contract was snuffed out faster than the good times of a garbage-time goal against the Kings.  Vladimir Tkachev will be eligible for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, which will no doubt produce a good story or two come draft time next year.

The Oilers are saying

That's Coyotes goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who will start against his former club tonight.

It's hard to root against Devan Dubnyk.  He signed a big two year deal a few years back, and I went all in on him being the future in Edmonton's net.  Unfortunately, the wheels came off really fast last year, and he was traded to Nashville. Then Montreal.  Then he played a bit in Hamilton.  The 2013-14 hockey season is no doubt a year that Devan Dubnyk would like to put behind him.  Tonight, he faces off against the club that drafted him in the first round of 2004.

• Ben Scrivens gets his first start of the preseason.   He's competing against Viktor Fasth for the starting job, but I've the feeling that he's got the upper hand on the job, as he's The Guy Who Stopped 59 Shots Against The Sharks Last Year.
• Hey, MacT?  Hey, yeah, I know you're likely not feeling too good about the whole Tkachev thing.  You could put a claim in on Peter Mueller.  He's out there, don'tcha know.  You take care now.
• The fourth line of Mark Arcobello, Jesse Joensuu and Steven Pinizzotto looks like something that you might actually see in the regular season.  I don't think I want to see it, but it could be something we might see.